Vice President, M. Venkaiah Naidu arrived in Qatar, on the last leg of his ongoing three-nation tour. He is the first ever Vice President of India to visit the State of Qatar and was received by Soltan bin Saad Al Muraikhi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs on his arrival at Doha airport. Thereafter, he was given a rousing welcome by the members of the Indian community at the hotel.
Naidu called on Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Father of Amir of Qatar and then he held delegation level talks with Sheikh Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Thani, the Prime Minister and Minister of Interior of Qatar.
Highlighting that India and Qatar have historic ties built on mutual trust and respect, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani hoped that more investments can be made by Qatar in India and more industrial and business houses can establish economic ties with Qatar.
Appreciating that Qatar’s investment in India has grown five times since March 2020, Naidu opined, “it is still well below potential and can be substantially increased.” He also said that there is a keen interest in the private Indian business community to build partnerships with Qatar.
Naidu said that with nearly 800 US FDA approved manufacturing units, India takes pride in being the ‘Pharmacy of the World’, and supplies a large number of medicines to the US and Europe. He noted that India would also be happy to work with Qatar in the area of traditional medicine.
Observing that nearly 40% of our gas requirements are met from Qatar, Naidu said that India deeply values Qatar’s role in its energy security and underscored the need to move beyond buyer- seller relationship into a comprehensive energy partnership.
Highlighting India’s focus on green development, the Vice President wanted Qatar to be India’s partner in this new journey. Emphasising that India attaches high importance to its deep rooted centuries old ties with Qatar, the Vice President said that the pearl trade and the dhows provided the deep connect that is reflected today in the commonalities of culture, cuisine and cinema
